Weekly RoundUp 9-29-2009 (1 Viewer)

[Chris S]

Thanks Mike & Patrick!

Just Superman/Batman BD for me this week. Very tempted to pick up Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal but will wait for them to go down a little more in price first.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Jason, many states have insurance laws that require insurance companies to replace cracked windshields for free. Mine was scratched, I contacted a local windshield replacement (glass)company, they did all the paperwork and coordination with my insurance company and it was a done deal. No cost. This is Florida, but I heard NPR report the same thing last week - that most states honor insurance laws that require this.

Point is, you should be able to have it done for free and still have your discretionary spending money intact!

Originally Posted by Jason_V

As much as I'd like to pick up Oz, Superman/Batman and a few others, I decided I needed to get my windshield finally replaced. It's been cracked badly for about four or five years now and it's going to set me back rather substantially.

I may break down over the weekend and put what I want (plus a Wii...) on one of the CC's, but I hope someone can talk me out of it...

 

[Jason_V]

^ Yeah, I had checked that out with AAA a year or so ago here in Michigan. I don't have comprehensive insurance and the windshield would have been covered under that policy. It kind of works out in the end...I'm also trying to whittle down the disc collection, so this may kill two birds with one stone.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I just pulled a listing for Wyatt Earp: Season 2 from the DVD price grid above.

I learned from a thread over in SD-Software that apparently the releases has been pulled by the manufacturer.

Too bad--especially for the fans of classic TV on DVD.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Originally Posted by Michael Reuben

Amazon randomly seems to include European releases in their listings. I've given up trying to figure out why certain ones get picked and others ignored. And the Tuesday date is a complete mystery -- maybe that's when they expected to get stock?

Agreed that Amazon has developed this odd habit wrt European releases, but seems kinda odd that Best Buy's also doing it though -- or maybe I just never noticed it before in Best Buy's case since I don't normally look up titles on their site. Actually, now that I think of it, I do seem to recall seeing them list Se7en (the Canadian Alliance version) for instance, but I could just be remembering wrong though.

Does Amazon ever actually carry such releases for sale to US customers (vs merely listing them)? Actually, I was kinda hoping they'd carry the standalone Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon BD that's available in Europe since I don't want to repurchase the other 2 titles in that Sony boxset, but no dice of course.

Also, now that I think of it (because of the CTHD situation), I wonder if one of the reasons that European releases are occasionally getting listed on Amazon isn't due to how their marketplace section (for 3rd party sellers) work. I was actually checking to see if I could get CTHD at a good price "used, like new" in the marketplace section much like I've seen for some other releases, eg. the Austin Powers set being broken up and sold separately in their marketplace section. Of course, if someone is selling CTHD broken out of the boxset (as unlikely as that might seem), that wouldn't really reference the European release/version. But someone could also decide to sell the standalone European release/version anyway -- and it's not like there's a whole lot of due diligence being performed in matching up the actual product listings w/ what marketplace sellers are actually selling (as anyone who shops for SACDs over there would find out).

I guess another possible reason for including a European listing, particularly one for a film that doesn't also have an announced USA release yet, is for a placeholder for Amazon reviewers, whatever other info, etc. seeing how Amazon (again) doesn't seem to try (much, if at all) to match up product listings w/ proper reviews (from both customers and editorial reviewers or similar), which is why one often sees reviews show up before their customers could possibly have had the products in their possession to review. But no idea if such European listings are actually used for that purpose -- just speculating here...

_Man_

 

[Mike Frezon]

Or...it could just be a screw-up!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

_Man_

 

[Mike Frezon]

A screw-up is a screw-up...no matter how you slice it. Some people (companies) are just better at them than others. I'm pretty good at 'em myself sometimes!

 

[Bill Thomann]

My BB.com order shipped & even thought the ad AND the online price has changed on the 2 disc Monsters Vs. Aliens from $22.99 to $19.99 (with the free BOB plush) I was still charged $22.99 (+ tax & shipping). I had to call and they have to send it to the credit dept. for a price change which they said could take up to 10 days. I can't wait for our BB to open up so I never have to deal with BB.com again.

Edit: They adjusted $3.21 off of the order. Yippee!!!

 

[John Swarce]

Picked up Oz UCE and Monsters v. Aliens in Blu at Best Buy today. What great packaging for the Oz set! Very happy with this, even though the box was coming part slightly by the hinge of the front flap (little scotch tape for that). I couldn't understand why BB put a damn "spider" alarm on all of the Blu-ray Oz sets, but none on the regular DVD sets that cost $5.00 less. The bands put a slight crease in the box (and probably contributed to the problem above).

--John

 

[Mike Frezon]

I bit on the $20 Wal-Mart Wizard of Oz release.

to WB for allowing fans of the film an affordable way to enjoy it in high definition. I thought I'd be waiting a loooooong time.

 

[EricSchulz]

I was in Target this morning and they are carrying both versions of the UCE WoO. Both are regular priced at $49.99 and $64.99 (BD). Also, they had a selection of "Temporary Price Cut" Blu-Rays at $9.99 and $14.99, running until 10/12/09 IIRC.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Does the Target version of Oz Blu-ray have all four discs, or is it just the movie?

 

[Mike Frezon]

The $35 Target release, Mark, has three discs. Disc #1: The film + bonus features. Disc #2: More bonus features. Disc #3: When the Lion Roars MGM documentary. The 4th disc from the UCE is missing: that's the digital copy.

There is also a 1-disc at Wal-Mart ($20) that is just Disc #1: Movie + some bonus features.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Are there any printed ads of the UCE Wizard of Oz at Walmart for the $51.99 price that I can get Best Buy to match (I have some cash credit there)? Their price match policy requires the competitor price has been 'advertised.' Thanks if anyone can point me to one.

 

[EricSchulz]

Originally Posted by Mark Zimmer

Does the Target version of Oz Blu-ray have all four discs, or is it just the movie?

Mark, If you are referring to my post, the $64.99 is the full Blu-Ray set (with book, watch, etc). It was not in the circular (neither was the SD box set for $49.99), but is located on the TV/Box Set New Release display.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Best Buy matched Walmart's price of $51.99 for the UCE BD without me even producing an ad, or confirming whether that was online only. Nice. And I'm very glad I got the UCE set, which is really a great package. I gave the set to my wife, a huge WoO fan, and she also loved the watch. That's it for WoO purchases for me.

To further confirm, the Target BD only set at $34.99 includes ALL three discs from the UCE set, but not the digital DVD copy. For anyone just wanting all the disc content, this is a great way to go.

Originally Posted by Hollywoodaholic

Are there any printed ads of the UCE Wizard of Oz at Walmart for the $51.99 price that I can get Best Buy to match (I have some cash credit there)? Their price match policy requires the competitor price has been 'advertised.' Thanks if anyone can point me to one.

 

[Mark Zimmer]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the $35 Target set is definitely the way to go; I don't need more junk (though I suppose many would say yet ANOTHER copy of this movie would qualify in this category).

 

[TonyD]

I picked up the Target Oz today did someone mention that the receipt says this is a sale price from the regular $39.99 price.
This target had plenty of this and the box edition and plenty of Gremlins.

 

[Derek Miner]

Originally Posted by TonyD

This target had plenty of this and the box edition and plenty of Gremlins.

I had to go to my Target three times to get a Gremlins, and I got the last one of the restock.